Originally entitled ‘Portrait of Kasmin’, this image relates to the painting ‘Play within a Play’. Hockney’s dealer is the figure in the foreground.

In 1963 the National Gallery had acquired some works by the seventeenth century artist Domenichino, which were painted as trompe-l’oeil tapestries. One, ‘Apollo killing the Cyclops’, shows a dwarf in the foreground. Taking Domenichino’s idea of a very shallow space, David Hockney decided to trap John Kasmin similarly.

By using a heavy layer of silkscreen ink on the fingers, nose and lips only, Kasmin appears squashed against the glazing.